A woman found wandering near Fresno claiming to be a mermaid has been identified by the Fresno County Sheriff's Department.

After receiving a tip and then speaking with a relative, detectives say they have positively identified the woman as a 33-year-old Virginia resident.

In a statement, the sheriff's department said it believed the woman may be a victim of a crime and that they would not release her name to the public.

The strange circumstances of how the woman was found first caught the attention of media after a since-deleted Facebook post by the Fresno Police Department asked the public for clues on Jane Doe's identity.

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The woman was first discovered by a motorist at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday morning wandering through the town of Friant near Fresno. She was only wearing a black sports bra at the time and, according to earlier reports, would answer "I don't know" to most questions from police.

The social media post also said that when the 33-year-old was found, her hair was wet and that she told officers she was a mermaid named Joanna. A notice from police further noted that the woman had webbed toes on both feet.

Police were unable to identify her through fingerprints at the time, KRON4 reported.

"She was wet, she said she had been in the lake, said she needed help and needed to be taken to the hospital," Fresno Police Lt. Mark Hudson told the news station.

Detectives with the sheriff's department believe the woman flew into the area last week and was "visiting to see if this is an area she may want to move to one day." They are currently trying to piece together where the woman has gone during the last week.

Public Information Officer Tony Botti with the sheriff's department spoke with The Huffington Post, telling the news site that the sheriff's office will update the public with more information and that it will stray from using "insensitive" language in their updates.

The sheriff's department stated it is making arrangements for relatives to reunite with the woman. Anyone with information about the case is being asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (559) 600-3111.

SFGATE has reached out to the Fresno County Sheriff's Department for further details. This story will be updated with more information should we hear back.